Full-body charger for battery-powered patient implantable device

A method of charging rechargeable batteries mounted within one or more electrically-powered devices implanted beneath the skin of a patient's body, said method comprising the steps of:

• positioning a patient, having one or more implanted electrically-powered devices, proximate to at least one coil capable of being energized to emit an alternating magnetic field encompassing one or more of the electrically-powered devices;
• energizing said at least one coil with an AC signal for a first time period;
• emitting a control signal to the electrically-powered devices during a second time period to selectively interrogate the status of the rechargeable battery mounted within one of the electrically-powered devices;
• receiving a status signal from said selectively interrogated device during a third time period;
• and
• repeating said energizing, emitting and receiving steps according to said status signal received from each of said selectively interrogated devices.

A method of charging rechargeable batteries mounted within one or more electrically-powered devices implanted beneath the skin of a patient's body wherein said patient's body is positioned on a support structure which includes a plurality of coils, each being capable of being energized to emit an alternating magnetic field encompassing one or more of the electrically-powered devices, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) energizing a selected one of said coils with an AC signal for a first time period for providing charging power to electrically-powered devices within an operational range;
• (b) emitting a control signal to the electrically-powered devices during a second time period to selectively interrogate the status of the rechargeable batteries mounted within the electrically-powered devices located within said selected coil's operational range;
• (c) receiving a status signal from each of said electrically-powered devices within the operational range during discrete portions of a third time period;
• and
• (d) repeating said energizing, emitting and receiving steps according to said status signals received from each of said electrically-powered devices until all of the electrically-powered devices located within said selected coil's operational range indicate that their respective batteries are fully charged.

A method of charging rechargeable batteries mounted within one or more electrically-powered devices implanted beneath the skin of a patient's body wherein said patient's body is positioned on a support structure which includes a plurality of coils, each being capable of being energized to emit an alternating magnetic field encompassing one or more of the electrically-powered devices, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) energizing a selected one of said coils with an AC signal for a first time period for providing charging power to electrically-powered devices within an operational range;
• (b) emitting a control signal to the electrically-powered devices during a second time period to selectively interrogate the status of the rechargeable batteries mounted within the electrically-powered devices located within said selected coil's operational range;
• (c) receiving a status signal from each of said electrically-powered devices within said selected coil's operational range during discrete portions of a third time period;
• and
• (d) repeating steps (a)-(c) for a next selected one of said coils.